Neither of them is moving.
They’re both on the ground, a tangle of limbs and blood, and I can’t tell whose blood it is. I can’t tell who’s breathing. I can’t tell?—
My heartbeat screams in my ears.
My hands fly to my mouth.
Oh, god.
Please.
No.
I just found him. I just found this man who sees me, who wants me, who promised to protect me. I just let myself love him.
I can’t lose him.
I can’t?—
Please, no. I can’t lose Alec.
I love him.
10
Alec
Pain—explosive and hot. It rips through my arm as I hit the ground, tangled up with Theodore.
For a split second, everything goes white. Then my training kicks in.
Assess. Adapt. Survive.
I glance down at my arm. Blood leaks from a gash just below my shoulder. It burns like hell, but I can move my fingers. I can make a fist. The bullet grazed me—nothing more.
I’m fine.
But Claire?—
My head snaps up, scanning the parking garage.Where is she? Is she hurt? Did he?—
There. Standing ten feet away. Shaking, but on her feet. Unharmed.
The relief that crashes through me is so intense my vision blurs for a second. She’s okay. She’s okay.She’s okay.
Theodore groans beneath me, and I remember I have a job to finish.
He immediately tries to gain control of the gun again, but I’m actually left-handed, and this asshole is going down.
I snatch the revolver out of his grip. He’s not nearly as strong as me, and when I glare down at him, now in possession of his weapon, his hands fly up in surrender.
“We got it?”
I call out, and soon enough I hear heels clicking on the cement. When I look up, taking my eyes off Teddy only because I have a gun leveled at his head, I zero in on his bodyguards.
They’re getting ready to rush me. I clench my jaw, staring daggers at them as the gun swivels in their direction.
“Ah, ah, ah. I have no intention of shooting the asshole. But your boss has broken about a dozen laws at this point, so how ‘bout y’all back the fuck up and go find something better to do?”
